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Ruling party rebel lays down his challenge to
ageing President Mugabe

The TimesFebruary 16, 2008

Jan Raath in HarareA three-horse race for
Zimbabwe's presidency was set in motion yesterday when candidates registered
for elections that for the first time pose a real challenge to the
octogenarian President Mugabe.

The main threat to his rule comes from a
rebel within his own party, Simba Makoni, 57, an articulate former Finance
Minister sacked by Mr Mugabe. Mr Makoni, a member of the ruling party's
politburo until last week when he denounced Mr Mugabe's “failure of
leadership”, arrived at the high court to register his nomination in a
Toyota Sedan, accompanied by his wife, Chipo.

Mr Mugabe will be the sole
candidate for his ruling Zanu (PF) party. Morgan Tsvangirai will stand for
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, now making his fourth attempt
to unseat Mr Mugabe, 83. In contrast, the head of a rival faction of the
MDC, Arthur Mutambara, announced that he and his party had decided they
would not be fielding a presidential candidate and would instead urge
supporters to back the independent candidate, Mr Makoni. “We are going to
support, vigorously and throughout the country, the presidential bid of Dr
Makoni,” he said. “We feel we owe it to Zimbabweans to close ranks with Dr
Makoni so that Zimbabweans can deliver change.”

The elections for
president, parliament, and 1,958 local government wards on March 29 are seen
as the most crucial in the country's history since independence in
1980.

Related Links a.. Party rebel to stand against Mugabe a..
Rally violence 'exposes Mugabe reform pledge'Once one of Africa's most
highly developed nations, Zimbabwe is now racked by frequent shortages of
food, drinking water and power. Roads are potholed and streets strewn with
uncollected rubbish and awash with sewage.

The collapse of the economy
has begun to affect ruling party heavyweights whose access to money, farms,
4x4 vehicles and diamonds is now under threat. The dire state of affairs was
underlined this week by the publication of inflation figures for last year
of 66,212 per cent.

Presidential candidates have to pay a non-returnable
deposit of Z$1 billion, which is worth £50. Aspiring MPs and senators have
to produce Z$100 million, or about £5.

The two factions of the MDC
failed to present a unified platform after Mr Tsvangirai broke an agreement
on the shared allocation of seats. The splitting of anti-Zanu (PF) votes may
be fatal for the party that, before it divided in 2005, is seen to have been
beaten in the three elections since 2000 only by violence and
intimidation.

Millions of Zimbabweans are expected to vote in the
elections, but the ruling party remained confident of victory. “We're very
confident of victory, 99.9 per cent confident,” said Emerson Mnangagwa, a
Cabinet minister, after presenting Mr Mugabe's election registration papers
to the court in Harare.

"Since more than one candidate has been duly nominated for the
office of president the polls shall take place on Saturday March 29 2008 in
accordance with the electoral act."

Papers for President Robert
Mugabe were submitted to the nominations court by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the
ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) secretary
for legal affairs.

Former finance minister Simba Makoni, standing as an
independent, handed in his papers in person while forms for the main
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, were submitted by his senior aide
Nelson Chamisa.

Nomination papers for William Gwata of the little-known
Christian Democratic party were rejected for failing to satisfy the criteria
while former ZANU-PF official Daniel Shumba was barred from submitting his
papers after turning up at the close of nominations.

Mnangagwa, who
is also Mugabe's rural housing minister, said the ruling party was confident
of extending its rule both at the presidential vote and the parliamentary
elections which are also taking place on March 29.

"We are extremely
confident because we have been organising for the last year or so and
restructuring the party," he said in brief comments to reporters outside the
courthouse.

Makoni, who has been kicked out of ZANU-PF over his challenge
to Mugabe, said he would immediately launch his election campaign.

"I
feel good and I am raring to go," he told reporters after filing the
acceptance of papers.

"As soon as I leave this building I will launch
my campaign."

Chamisa expressed confidence that the MDC would romp to
victory in the elections.

"There is no doubt that this election is
between the MDC and two ZANU-PF factions, one led by Simba Makoni and the
other led by Robert Mugabe," Chamisa said.

"We are fighting a
fractious ZANU-PF and we are going to win."

A breakaway faction from the
MDC did not put up a candidate but rather decided to support
Makoni.

"Our political party, has decided in pursuit of national interest
to endorse the presidential bid in Zimbabwe by Dr Simba Makoni," the
faction's leader, Arthur Mutambabra, told a news conference.

"Dr
Makoni is a courageous Zimbabwean. Makoni has the ability to unify people
across the political divide and he has a strategic vision."

Mutambara
added he would be himself be contesting for a seat in Zengeza West, 30
kilometres (18 miles) southwest of the capital.

But Makoni said: "I am
not in an alliance with anyone. I am an independent candidate and I am
standing alone."

Mugabe, who is 84 next week, is hoping to secure a sixth
term of office as leader of the former British colony of Rhodesia which he
has ruled since independence in 1980.

The elections are taking place
against a backdrop of economic meltdown in Zimbabwe, which has an official
inflation rate of more than 66,000 percent -- the highest in the
world.

Unemployment stands at around 80 percent, even basic foodstuffs
are scare, and the general infrastructure is rapidly crumbling.

New twist in Zim election race

Harare - A splinter group of Zimbabwe's opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) backed former finance minister Simba
Makoni on Friday in his bid to win a presidential election next
month.

Arthur Mutambara, leader of a group that split from MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai's main faction in 2005, said its party would,
however, stand for parliamentary and council elections on March 29, when the
presidential poll will also take place.

"I am here today to
announce to Zimbabweans that our political party has decided that, in
pursuit of national interests, we are endorsing the presidential bid by
Simba Makoni," told reporters.

"Makoni has shown courage by
standing up to (President Robert) Mugabe."

Makoni, an economic
reformer, was expelled this week from the ruling party after he announced he
would stand against Mugabe.

Can Tsvangirai make the ultimate sacrifice?

New Zimbabwe

By Dr
Alex T. MagaisaLast updated: 02/15/2008 21:08:32MORGAN Tsvangirai is a
brave man. Few have endured the tortuous path of opposition politics in
Zimbabwe as he has in the last eight years. When the history of the nation
is told, surely, his name will appear alongside the men and women who made
sacrifices in the service of their people.

But there is one more
sacrifice, perhaps the greatest and most difficult of all to execute, which
now stares him in the face.

And if he were to make it, so that change
could indeed become a real deliverable, it could well confer the greatest
accolade any man could ever receive from his people. It is whether he has
the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice, that is, to eschew his personal
ambition in order that the greater cause for which he has fought so
valiantly may be realised. It is the new challenge that Simba Makoni poses,
having now entered the presidential race against his erstwhile boss, Robert
Mugabe.

It is testimony to the vicissitudes of politics that one who has
enjoyed so much acclamation and to whom much hope has been invested for the
past eight years, should now be facing pleas to ‘step aside’ for another who
until a few weeks ago was part of a system against which he was
fighting.

Yet in truth, it says a great deal more about the character of
the present struggle in Zimbabwe. For too long, it has been mischaracterised
as simply a struggle for democracy. There is, of course, good reason for
clothing it in the apparel of democracy and human rights. These are
fashionable robes, resonating across the world and also providing the
beautiful cover of respectability and universality.

But when you lift
that veil, when you peer through, you discover that in truth, this is but a
stage in a very long and protracted process that will linger for years to
come. You unearth the reality that this stage is really and practically
about achieving change in the national leadership.

All the beautiful
arguments often advanced about democracy and systematic change do make
sense. Yet they also conceal the fact that the most urgent and pragmatic
objective is to substitute a new leader for President Mugabe. This rests on
a widely held but unspoken assumption. It is the hypothesis that a change in
national leadership and therefore a replacement of Mugabe, is more likely to
unlock other opportunities. This, very importantly, includes unhinging
opportunities for economic revival, a matter that is, surely, uppermost in
the minds of ordinary citizens.

This postulation does not dismiss issues
of democracy and systematic changes. It simply envisages them as long-term
deliverables which rest on the attainment of the first and most urgent
objective: leadership change. Realistically, even the forthcoming elections
will not deliver these systematic changes overnight. They are simply about
opening the doors, currently locked by the leadership question.

That
is why from a strategic platform, it is important to make decisions on how
best to confront the leadership challenge. It cannot be done through a
divided opposition. It becomes pertinent, therefore, to gauge who among the
opposition has the best opportunity to make a successful challenge. It is in
this context that both Tsvangirai and Mutambara have been asked to consider
backing Makoni. Apparently, Mutambara has agreed. But Tsvangirai has
reportedly refused to heed this call.

Perhaps Tsvangirai does feel
belittled and hard done by. Perhaps the language carrying the message has
appeared to denigrate his audacious efforts over the years. For a man
bearing scars that evidence his personal sacrifices, it may appear too
condescending, yes, perhaps, too dismissive to simply ask him to ‘step
aside’ for another man.

Yet, ultimately, when all is considered, he may
wish to see this not as a denigration but an acknowledgement of his mass
appeal, that men and women have to make pleas, uncultured though the
language may appear, for him to sacrifice a personal ambition, in order that
the greater goal of change may be achieved. He may even see his role here as
playing the ‘King-maker’ and thereby anointing Makoni for the pursuit of the
greater cause.

There can be no doubt that Tsvangirai enjoys popular
appeal, earned by both sweat and blood. Flawed though he may be, there are
many in and outside Zimbabwe in whose hearts he occupies a comfortable
place. And yet, also, a leader must make some tough
decisions.

Tsvangirai has faced difficult questions before, one of which
ultimately resulted in the break-up of the fractured MDC in October 2005. He
made the tough decision and has almost got away with it, retaining the
larger measure of support in the party. But even that does not seem enough
to deliver his ultimate ambition.

Yet the Makoni Factor presents a
similarly difficult question, one that demands a leader’s fluency in the
language of leadership. It is a language that is indeterminate; one that
combines both the pursuit of long-term principle and an understanding of
pragmatism. Perhaps in dismissing the Makoni Factor, Tsvangirai is holding
steadfastly to his principles. But that may also be to overlook the
fundamental demands of pragmatism in the language of leadership and
politics.

Why, therefore, Simba Makoni?

It is because of all the
challengers, he seems to be more uniquely placed. He seems to represent an
important bridging factor in a nation ravaged by rifts across parties and
mini-parties. He is likely to enjoy the support of ordinary citizens who
want change but have been disillusioned by the opposition’s incapacities.
These swing voters will have been reawakened by this dramatic turn of
events. He is also likely to enjoy the backing of those in Zanu PF who want
change but have, until now, not been presented with any choice within their
party. This appeal across divisions is something no candidate has been able
to achieve for a long time.

Makoni also appears to enjoy the confidence
of the international community, broadly defined, and it is quite likely that
he could receive the ‘quiet confidence’ of the regional leaders who, it
seems, have always preferred someone emerging from within their beloved
liberation movements. He has undoubtedly stolen the limelight from the
line-up of challengers. He represents hope that Zanu PF itself can
change.

Tsvangirai and his most ardent backers may wish to consider that
this election by no means represents the ‘end of history’ for Zimbabwe. It
does not mean that if Mugabe loses, there will be no more struggle for
democracy and related causes. It is, rather, a stage in a more protracted
process that will linger for years to come. Tsvangirai and indeed others who
will emerge, may still be called upon to pursue the good
fight.

Tsvangirai may of course not see this in the same way. But fluency
in the language of politics is also about reading the omens. The widespread
excitement over Makoni does represent something, which no-one can
comfortably overlook. But there is always the disease that afflicts most
people who find themselves subject to the wild forces of acclamation. It is
that one may become so engrossed in the pursuit of personal ambition and so
overwhelmed by the celebration that they lose their ability to read the
signs.

With thousands that will attend his rallies and a large
coterie of advisers around him, Tsvangirai might just be unable to resist
the urge to pursue his personal destiny. The trouble is if he were to lose,
as is quite likely under the circumstances, he does risk becoming irrelevant
in the aftermath of the election. The moral and material support that has
sustained his long campaign is finite and a failure to read the omens could
prove politically fatal to a career that until now has looked so
promising.

Perhaps too much is being asked of an earthly being. Perhaps
sacrifice is the language that only the Son of Man could muster. But then,
that is why, perhaps, millions still worship Him to this day. Perhaps these
matters of sacrifice are questions that lie far beyond the grasp of
humankind. Perhaps these deeds that we ask for are not deeds capable of
being done by those of this universe.

Concern over media bias in Zimbabwe

Mail and Guardian

Cape Town, South Africa

15 February 2008
02:28

With only weeks to go before the Zimbabwean elections,
there has been no let-up in the slanted coverage of the campaign by the
country's public broadcaster, according to the independent Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ).

The Harare-based project said it
noted with concern that the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation showed no sign
of observing either Zimbabwean law or Southern African Development Community
guidelines requiring it to provide fair and balanced
coverage.

Nor had it tried to publicise important voter
information on the complicated electoral process.

MMPZ
said that last week ZTV devoted 37 minutes in its news bulletins to
"approving coverage" of the ruling Zanu-PF, compared with a combined total
of just four minutes for the Movement for Democratic Change and the newly
formed Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).

Although new
presidential hopeful, former finance minister Simba Makoni, received 18
minutes on ZTV's news bulletins, this was overwhelmingly dominated by
reports chastising him for breaking ranks with the ruling party and
challenging President Robert Mugabe.

The government media
deliberately trivialised the significance of Makoni's decision to challenge
Mugabe for the presidency.

On the day it was announced, ZTV
"buried it" in a minor item announcing the formation of the ZDP by
little-known Kisnot Mukwezha.

The MMPZ said that under
amendments to the electoral laws, the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) was
obliged to draw up a code of conduct for the media for this election period
and to ensure they adhere to this code.

However, it had
not yet done so.

While it had been reported that the ZEC had
been conducting "house-to-house" voter education, there was no indication of
how extensive this exercise was.

Neither, apparently, had
it enlisted any of the media in its efforts to explain changes to
constituency and ward boundaries, and how these would affect
voters.

"Nor has it attempted to disseminate other important
electoral information, such as the number and location of polling stations
[and] that voters will need to cast their ballots effectively in Zimbabwe's
most complex electoral exercise," the MMPZ said.

Private
civic organisations had been the only voices disseminating voter
education.

All of the 53 voter-education advertisements
monitored on ZTV last week were placed by private bodies. -- Sapa

Zimbabweans ignore inflation in battle for survival

Reuters

Fri 15 Feb
2008, 14:45 GMT

By Nelson Banya

HARARE, Feb 15 (Reuters) -
Anywhere else, news that inflation has topped 66,000 percent might have
sparked street protests and sent nervous shudders through a government
facing an election in just over a month.

But Zimbabwe's economy has sunk
so low for so long, that many appeared to have resigned themselves to their
fate, largely shrugging off Thursday's announcement that year-on-year
inflation had yet again shot to a record in December.

Analysts say
despite the decaying economy, President Robert Mugabe does not face much of
a challenge to his 28-year rule during the March 29 election, given a deeply
divided opposition and a political climate of fear.

Zimbabwe's economy
has been in recession for seven consecutive years, resulting in chronic
shortages of food, fuel, water and electricity.

Zimbabweans have long
become used to finding their way around soaring prices, using barter to
trade goods from magazines to cooking oil.

"The reality is that we see
the effects of high inflation each time we visit the supermarket, the
(inflation) figure tells us what we know already," said Gabriel Makombe, a
clerk at an insurance firm in central Harare.

"The surprise, this time,
is they actually released such a figure ahead of the elections," he
added.

The government statistics agency, often accused by analysts of
understating price rises, said year-on-year inflation reached 66,212.3
percent from 26,470.8 percent in November.

Zimbabwe has long had the
world's highest inflation rate as it grapples with a recession blamed on
Mugabe's policies, such as the seizure of white-owned farms to resettle
landless blacks.

The central bank was forced to issue high-value notes
amid a bank note shortage between December and January.

But the
highest denomination 10 million Zimbabwe dollar bill -- worth $333 at the
official exchange rate but only $1.25 on the black market -- will buy only
two loaves of bread and is rapidly losing value.

Apart from the chronic
shortage of basics, frequent power cuts, broken sewers and bad roads mirror
the economic decay in a country where only one in four adults is in formal
employment.

The government statistics agency has been increasingly
reluctant to release the data, a tacit acknowledgement that authorities are
losing the battle against inflation.

The official inflation rate is
nearly double that of the Weimar Republic in 1923. But it is still well
below the worst modern-day hyperinflation, when inflation in Yugoslavia in
1994 peaked at 313 million percent.

"REPRESSIVE
ENVIRONMENT"

Mugabe, 83 and in power since independence from Britain in
1980, is seeking re-election in the general election. He faces challenges
from former ally Simba Makoni and old rival Morgan Tsvangirai of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

While the rotting economy
has piled pressure on Mugabe, political analysts say a divided opposition
might be too weak to unseat him from power.

Mugabe denies ruining one of
Africa's most promising economies and says it has been sabotaged by Western
nations that have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe as punishment for his land
reforms.

Last year Mugabe ordered a blanket price freeze in a desperate
bid to stem inflation, but the move backfired as supermarket shelves were
rapidly emptied of basic goods, worsening widespread
shortages.

Although the government has gradually relaxed price controls,
many producers are yet to recover from the devastating price blitz and most
shops are stocked with imported products that are beyond the reach of
many.

Supermarkets that were flooded by consumers at the height of the
government crackdown on prices are now relatively well stocked but short of
shoppers.

"We simply cannot afford goods, like meat, a pint of milk and a
loaf of bread, that we used to take for granted. Even the single meal most
of us have grown used to is no longer guaranteed," said a government worker
who declined to be named.

Salaries for most government employees
range from 200 million to 500 million Zimbabwe dollars and a union
representing teachers making up the bulk of state workers is pushing for a
wage hike to at least Z$1.7 billion to keep up with inflation.

"My
earnings are hardly enough for transport fares, let alone school fees and
food," the government worker added. (Editing by Marius Bosch and Myra
MacDonald)

'NIPC Not to Blame for Price Hikes'

National
Incomes and Pricing Commission (NIPC) chairman, Mr Godwills Masimirembwa
this week said that the commission should not be blamed for the current
spate of price increases.

His comment comes against the background of
rising of basic foodstuff prices, some of which sanctioned by the
commission, and others, raised out of greed. "When we increase prices we
assume that employers increase salaries and wages. The commission
establishes wage determinants across the economy for the purposes of wage
and salary negotiations," he said.

As a result of high inflation, Mr
Masimirembwa explained that the NIPC had been flooded with requests to
increase prices and more increases are taking place without the price
regulators' permission. Mr Masimirembwa urged trade unionists to work with
the NIPC to bring about a budget allocation for workers.

He dismissed
allegations that the NIPC was failing to consider the welfare of low-income
earners most of them earning salaries way below the poverty datum line
(PDL). Pricing structures are meant to absorb production costs that
manufacturers incur, keeping in mind that workers need a decent wage.
Analysts are of the opinion that the NIPC needs to focus on its targeted
goal, which is to balance the price and wage variables on the
consumption-production scale. In addition, the efficiency of the NIPC's
approach to prices in such an inflationary environment can be achieved if
the NIPC faces less rebellion.

"I support the NIPC as an urgent way
of balancing the need for business viability, product availability and
consumer affordability," said an economist. Another analyst commented that
there was need to continue with price controls as they were a necessary tool
in the turn around of the economy. The market saw a change in prices for a
wide range of commodities such as bread which is now pegged at $3,5 million,
10kg mealie meal costing $10 million, 2kg brown sugar going for $7,4
million, white sugar (2 kg) selling for $7,9 million and 2 litres cooking
priced at $24,6 million.

All these prices have been approved by the NIPC.
In most cases, the products will be available only immediately after the
price increases, and will disappear for a very long time.

The Zimbabwe Enigma - Wake Up Africa

New Era
(Windhoek)

COLUMN15 February 2008Posted to the web 15 February
2008

Andrew N. MatjilaWindhoek

Thus has come to southern
Africa in the SADC region, an enigma that defies all logical solutions, viz.
Zimbabwe, or, as old man Vusa Mazulu Mutwa refers to it in African
mythology, Zimabje, in reference to an age-old Kingdom of Monomotapa, whose
demise left behind the awe-inspiring Zimbabwe Ruins.

The enigma
refers to the tough nut that Zimbabwe has become, defying neighbours and the
world at large to call her to order, or even to give a word of caution. The
authorities in Harare do not even contemplate asking their neighbours for
assistance in economic expertise, but rather stoically, like old man Ian
Smith himself, stick to their guns and prefer to go it
alone.

Rhodesia did that and ironically, survived economically
until Lancaster House.

Now the shoe is on the other foot, the only
difference being that Ian Smith and his white population were capable of
living well even under siege, and unemployment was unknown in those
days.

The now free and independent government of President Robert Mugabe
cannot make ends meet, at least not to keep the wolf from the door for the
man in the street. That it has been able to limp along for so long, is a
mystery that only Zimbabweans can elucidate. And, Zimbabweans are known to
be hard workers who rarely ever buy fresh vegetables, but produce them in
their own backyard all year round.

Of late, SADC is engaged with
contingency plans to, for lack of a better word, "rescue" Zimbabwe from the
doldrums of an economic meltdown. In layman's language, that country needs
assistance to overcome the great financial difficulties it is going through,
to enable it to emerge on the other side of the river, home and dry. What
the world is subjected to on TV about Zimbabwe does not augur well with an
Africa that is now in the hands of educated men and women. And Zimbabwe is
generally regarded as a country led by polished, well-groomed and
"thoroughly ripe" leaders. Here we are talking of leaders who told the
colonisers in Lancaster House to "git" out of Zimbabwe, because "we are
ready to shoulder all responsibility to rule ourselves".

Today, the
same leaders maintain that the Zimbabwe issue is being exaggerated by people
pandering to the West. Maybe! But in case we forget, the Zimbabweans who are
daily crossing into South Africa along their country's southern border, are
not just a figment of the imagination of TV reporters. The Zimbabweans who
are regularly paraded by SABC Africa in the African Views Programme, are not
an exaggeration as some politicians in SADC maintain, but genuine
refugees.

World War II

I can still recall that the same crossings
happened in the early 1940s at the outbreak of World War Two. Thousands of
Zimbabweans (then Rhodesians) and Malawians (the Nyasalanders) crossed the
South African northern frontier in search of "hiding". They were escaping
from being drafted into the Rhodesian African Rifles to fight for the
British Commonwealth.

Then, as now, they were welcomed with open arms by
white farmers, many of whom were wont to fight for Britain. Anyone then, who
was not prepared to fight for the British was very welcome. They were
employed on thousands of farms in the Transvaal, Free State and Natal. The
black people referred to them as Mablantani, a name that was associated with
the town Blantyre, at that time.

Sixty years later, the grandchildren
of the men of the forties who were escaping the draft, now cross the same
fence into South Africa to seek employment from the grandchildren of the
farmers of the forties.

In those traumatic years of "Hier kom Hitler"
(Here Comes Hitler) when the escapees were in relaxed moods at shebeens and
were asked where they came from, they proudly responded: "Thina phuma lapha
British, Mphaya."

(We Come from the British Empire - meaning - from a
country that is a member of the - ). An empire by the way, that they were
not prepared to serve when it needed their protection. Ai! But our
people!

The current wave of crossing into South Africa by Zimbabweans is
therefore not new at all, but old hat to those who know the
history.

African America

South Africa is a highly developed,
industrialised and wealthy country that offers almost the same opportunities
that are available in America. But for apartheid, it could have become the
Mecca of Africa long ago, a safe haven for the destitute, unemployed,
runaways, strays, smugglers, etc.

When the Madiba era was ushered in, in
1994, Africans from all over the Diaspora gate-crashed into South Africa by
their millions, from Cape Town to Muzina on the border with
Zimbabwe.

Johannesburg is the New York of Southern Africa to all those
looking for a quick buck, drugs, gambling, prostitution, and other unholy
activities.

SADC Summits

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is
not only a very elderly African gentleman, at whose office many of latter
day young Presidents knocked for assistance in the past, but is a well
cultivated, polished leader, second to none on our continent. Fondly called
"Bob", short for Robert in English, he speaks immaculate English and had it
not been for the political hazards of this world, and perhaps his own
undoing, he could long have been knighted by the Queen of England as Sir
Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

He is, as far as I'm concerned, the uncrowned
prince of African Politics.

Walking with a poise that makes younger men
look old, Robert Mugabe does not fall prone to the oft' sought after African
titles of "Doctor", "Professor", etc, but is satisfied with the normal title
of Mr President, or Mr Mugabe - very modest.

And by the way, the name
Robert means "bright fame" in English, while the biblical name Gabriel means
"God is strong". Here is a man who is endowed with the wherewithal of making
a country vibrant, outgoing, wealthy and proud.

But why is Zimbabwe
rubbished so much lately? Does a country with that much potential and
possible economic muscle deserve to be muddied around by all and sundry?
Bearing in mind that the way to men's hearts is through their stomachs, one
is tempted to say that after colonisation, those who are set free usually
expect manna from heaven. The new bosses must deliver or lose
credibility.

Mr Mugabe failed to deliver to his people as Mr Smith
did. And so, the SADC leaders meet from summit to summit, seeking for a
possible solution to the nail-biting problem that Zimbabwe has
become.

Ian Smith's UDI

Let me first take a look at UDI of Ian
Smith: Unilateral Declaration of Independence - 1965. Smith and his Rhodesia
Front white supremacists took the cudgel and vowed that never in a thousand
years would they hand over Rhodesia to the natives. Britain immediately
swung Plan B into action - Sanctions.

Now, this is perhaps one of the
most interesting twists in the history of that country by which it should be
measured today. UDI - Ian Smith loved his white countrymen so much that he
was prepared to highjack a country for their welfare. He also swung his Plan
B into action - Beat the Sanctions.

The English expression: "Necessity is
the mother of invention", refers to situations when, due to pressure,
deprivation and lack of resources, one devises an ingenious plan to make do
with what one can forge locally, as a substitute. And so, the Smith regime's
Save Ourselves machinery swung into action.

Rhodesia's industries
mushroomed overnight, manufacturing the needs of the country when imports
dried up. Within five years, Namibians living in the then landlocked Caprivi
Region were shopping at Victoria Falls, two hundred and eighty kilometers
away.

Within ten years of UDI, the Rhodesian dollar was selling for two
Rand and fifty cents. Motor car mechanics in that country became highly
proficient in the trade, maintaining old vehicles and forging and
manufacturing their own parts to make old cars look like
new.

Self-sufficiency was attained, and not one Zimbabwean dreamed of
crossing to South Africa to look for work. There were no women from Rhodesia
carrying heavy loads all over the place to sell table cloths and
bed-sheets.

The only cry of the people was that of longing for freedom,
but stomachs were always full. Eventually, the boys of "Chimurenga" (War of
liberation) won the day and freedom came after drums of blood and buckets of
tears had flown.

Uhuru

The Mugabe Government took over amid
pomp and ceremony. Our Bob became the first black Prime Minister of a free
Zimbabwe. At his first debut at the UN General Assembly, he said the
following among others: "When ZANU ascended to power we felt the moment
demanded of us a spirit of pragmatism, a spirit of realism, rather than that
of emotionalism, a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness rather than that
of vindictiveness and retribution.

"We had to stand firm to achieve total
peace rather than see our nation sink to the abyss of civil strife and
continued war we had to embrace one another in the spirit of our one
nationality, our common freedom and independence, our collective
responsibility."

Many Zimbabweans, now living in exile, might not be so
sure that Mr Mugabe loves his black countrymen so much that he is prepared
to develop every square inch of his country for their benefit, as much as
Ian Smith did. There doesn't seem to have been a Plan B here, because
Smith's strong dollar started taking a dive after independence. Everything
started shrinking from the countryside towards the capital city
Harare.

In any African State, when things go wrong, the first thing we
hear is very often a clash of the titans, the political rivals. The second
thing we hear is the colonial regimes who have destroyed everything, leaving
the new rulers with empty shells.

And so, Mugabe clashed with the
late Nkomo, and the birds that laid the golden eggs started looking abroad
to invest their money.

The love that Ian Smith had for his fellow whites,
was found lacking in Robert Mugabe. But why? Why? Why? Why should an African
political gem like Zim deteriorate to the extent of being discarded by those
who glowed in its light?

Why should a man who makes Africans proud be
feared like a monster creature when he is in fact a
gentleman?

Getting tough and 'roughing them up' is no longer an accepted
norm in the politics of today. Tough men of Chinese and Russian politics
have long left this world. The young generations of today are no longer
scared of being roughed up.

In fact they started in 1976 in South
Africa, when twelve-year-olds charged into machine guns with stones in their
hands. I do not have to re-tell that history. We know what
happened.

Today, Zimbabwe should proudly be standing up as a tower of
strength for every Shona, Ndebele, Tsonga and Venda-speaking citizen of that
country.

Instead, we are daily subjected to wave upon wave of Zimbabweans
tearing their worn-out shirts and dresses while going through the
barbed-wire fences of their southern border.

What do the leaders of
SADC say when they see this sort of thing? What do their wives say? Every
politician has a wife who tells him how to treat his subjects. A wife who
never reprimands her husband, has no love for him at all, and is only
waiting for his death, so that she can be free "of the monster"
herself.

What do the women in Zimbabwe say, when they see fellow
countrywomen on SABC TV with torn flesh, dresses and underwear, displayed
running like hunted animals in the border bush, others being swallowed by
crocodiles of the Limpopo River, looking for hope in South Africa? Is this
what Chimurenga was all about? Then it was not worth it at all.

Slap
in the Face

Smith has not been given a slap in the face to show him how
mistaken he was about his "never in a thousand years". We in Africa are not
really ready to rule ourselves if we expect one tribe to rule over another -
that is a one-way ticket to civil strife. We must do things as countrymen
and women.

Now SADC has appointed President Mbeki in the unenviable task
of negotiating between the parties in Zimbabwe. Quiet Diplomacy, they call
it.

Personally I don't think negotiations are necessary here. Zimbabwe
has Priests, Bishops, Professors, Chiefs, Kings, Teachers and all those
capable enough to call a round-table discussion to sort things
out.

Any country that cannot do this, is not fit to rule itself but must
be placed under the UN trusteeship until such times that the people are
united and do not see themselves as tribes, but citizens. What Zimbabwe
should do:

- Call all their Kings and Chiefs together;

- Call men
of outstanding academic stature with the experience to deal with national
issues;

- Call eminent politicians who are well respected citizens to
join this group;

- Call the wives of these politicians to join the
group;

- Call Bishops of the strong Churches to join the group;

-
Let the UN SG chair this meeting;

- Let the meeting decide on how
retiring politicians should be protected by the nation, because they fear
retirement;

- Let the meeting grant the retiring President a full-proof
protection by the state for a certain period;

- Draw up a
constitution that strictly allows for two terms of office for the Head of
State. It is the too long staying in power that breeds many wrongs which
later deter the ruler from handing over power to others.

It is generally
known that retiring political leaders are not sure of what will happen to
them in public. Many cannot even walk in the streets of the countries they
rule, because of the destructive policies they introduce.

Be that as it
may, at the end of the day, no outsider can negotiate the terms of agreement
between the citizens of one country. This can only bring about a temporary
solution.

Countrymen must face each other, and accept that they will live
together forever and ever. History tells us that even in the great United
States of America, men and women faced each other in 1863, and fought it out
in the open, until they were united.

All the tribes of the world are
in America, but there is no tribalism. Why is that, where there are Africans
there must always be tribalism? The current spirit of electioneering in
America is a big lesson in Democracy for African Politicians and
voters.

Millions and millions of voters - Jews, Russians, Chinese,
Japanese, AfroAmericans, Indians, both from India and local (let me say
every tribe under the sun lives in America) are voting in every state in
their millions without trouble. Rallies are held all over America and we
don't hear a word of intimidation, harassment, name-calling, cheating,
election commissions that can't count votes in time, shootings at rallies,
leaders abusing each other.

The one leader, Obama, is for that matter
a black man, but see how he fairs wherever he goes. And Bush knows his time
is up and he must go. He is not busy trying to change the constitution to
give himself another term.

No. There are no tribes in America but
American citizens. Yet they speak all the languages of the world. What's
wrong with us Africans? Are we so weak-kneed that we can't develop standards
of living? Personally I think it's all about standards.

In this world
of ours, there are dictators who become so powerful and so absolutely
corrupt that they begin to think that they are untouchable - immortal. They
lock themselves up behind steel doors to keep out "the trash".

But
the end result is always the same - the hand from above stretches - someone
finally breaks through the concrete walls, and gets them -
horribly.

Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini, Idi Amin, Mobutu, Lenin, Stalin,
Trotsky, and many such characters down the history lane, who regarded
themselves to be immortal. Someone up there dislikes that!

Civic group says elections won’t be free and
fair

Zim Online

by Nqobizitha Khumalo Saturday 16 February
2008

BULAWAYO – The Christian Alliance on Friday said next
month’s presidential and parliamentary elections will not be free and fair
as the electoral body charged with running the polls was inadequately
prepared for the elections.

In a pastoral letter signed by spokesman,
Useni Sibanda, which was released yesterday, the alliance said the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC), was inadequately prepared to run free and fair
elections on 29 March.

“Christian Alliance is concerned that the
electoral management institution, ZEC, appears not to be adequately prepared
to handle the harmonized elections.

“The time allocated for the
inspection of the voters roll has been inadequate. Information has not been
properly disseminated and most of the electorate has no access to the
media,” read part of the letter.

The Christian Alliance is a coalition
of churches, opposition political parties and civic groups that is pushing
for sweeping political reforms and a negotiated settlement in
Zimbabwe.

Last year, the alliance organised a prayer meeting in Harare’s
working class suburb of Highfield that saw Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and several other civic leaders brutally assaulted by state
security agents.

“It is obvious that the coming elections are not going
to be free and fair. The situation on the ground is worse than what it was
in our (last) election in 2005. The voters’ roll, we hear is in shambles,”
read the pastoral letter.

The alliance said despite these anomalies,
it was encouraging Zimbabweans to go out and vote in the
elections.

President Robert Mugabe will square off against his former
finance minister Simba Makoni and opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the presidential election that comes amid
a worsening economic crisis in the southern African country.

The
alliance also took a swipe at South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki who led
talks between the ruling ZANU PF party and MDC that excluded civic
society.

Mbeki was last year tasked by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) to mediate in the search for a lasting solution
to Zimbabwe’s political crisis.

“The SADC talks failed to produce
tangible results in terms of creating a conducive atmosphere for free and
fair elections. There were many international figures who were interested in
assisting in solving our crisis.

“President Mbeki kept them out by
confidently claiming that his soft diplomacy was working and that the talks
were on course and would yield the desired result,” read the
letter.

Tsvangirai earlier this week said Mbeki had failed in his
mediation efforts and urged the South African leader to show more courage in
dealing with the dictatorship in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the MDC
parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South, Eddie Cross, who was initially
barred from filing his nomination papers by the ZEC, finally managed to do
so after he won an urgent High Court interdict against the electoral
body.

The ZEC had barred Cross from filing his papers arguing that the
Bulawayo-based opposition official was not a Zimbabwean citizen as his
parents were of British descent, a charge he disputed.

Cross will
represent the Tsvangirai-led MDC in the 29 March election. -
ZimOnline

Probe into Attorney General resumes next
week

Zim Online

by Sebastian Nyamhangambiri Saturday 16 February
2008

HARARE – An inquiry into the conduct of suspended
Zimbabwe Attorney General (AG) Sobuza Gula-Ndebele resumes next week, with
indications the state planned to call an additional four witnesses to the
nine it had originally said would testify against the AG.

Mugabe last
November suspended Gula-Ndebele for abusing his office after he allegedly
met former National Merchant Bank (NMB) deputy managing director James
Mushore who was wanted by the police on charges of breaching the country’s
foreign exchange laws.

Then president appointed a three-man tribunal to
probe whether the AG – the government’s chief legal officer and an
ex-officio member of Cabinet – should be permanently removed from
office.

Top opposition politician and constitutional law expert Welshman
Ncube, who is representing Gula-Ndebele, said the hearing would resume on
Monday.

“I am not sure now when it will end. It seems it is taking
forever to finish because of some complications,” said Ncube, who could not
shed more light on the matter because the inquiry is being held in camera at
the orders of Mugabe.

Government sources told ZimOnline that among
witnesses to be called by the state are intelligence agents who spied on
Gula-Ndebele and would testify that he met Mushore at a Harare
restaurant.

Mushore fled to Britain in 2004 at the height of a Zimbabwean
banking crisis that saw several finance houses shut down by the country's
central bank. He was arrested in October upon his return to
Zimbabwe.

Police, who are separately investigating Gula-Ndebele, say he
promised Mushore he would not be arrested if he returned to Zimbabwe. The
Attorney General denies the charge.

High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu
is chairing the tribunal. Justice Samuel Kudya and Harare lawyer Lloyd
Mhishi are the other members of the committee. — ZimOnline

Zimbabwe Primary Elections Flawed On Both Sides Of The Political
Divide

VOA

By Carole Gombakomba Washington 15
February 2008

Nomination court sittings around Zimbabwe
on Friday marked an end to a primary election season that observers say was
marred by violence in some instances and by alleged irregularities on both
sides of the country's political divide.

Primaries of the ruling
ZANU-PF party were punctuated by clashes between rivals for candidacy in a
number of cities, leaving at least seven people dead. Some top ruling party
officials - including a number of ministers - were toppled by newcomers, but
the leadership imposed candidates constituencies including Zvimba, Bindura
and Gutu.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change formation led by
Morgan Tsvangirai was also in turmoil and although it departed from its
previous policy that incumbents would not be challenged, the grouping's
leadership nonetheless imposed a number of candidates in Harare
constituencies such as Mabvuku-Tafara and Budiriro.

The Arthur
Mutambara MDC grouping was also accused of undemocratic
practices.

For perspective on the process, reporter Carole Gombakomba
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe turned to Women’s Trust Director Luta Shaba
and National Director Alois Chaumba of the Catholic Commission for Justice
and Peace in Zimbabwe, who said attempts to hold democratic primaries were
thwarted by party hierarchies.

Zimbabwe Business Leader Says 66,000% Inflation Probably
Understated

A Zimbabwean business leader said Friday
that the Harare government significantly understated inflation when it gave
December's 12-month rate as 66,000% this week.

Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce President Marah Hativagone said that the figure of
66,212% issued by the Central Statistical Office does not accurately reflect
conditions on the ground - for instance the need to import most goods for
sale.

Hativagone told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that the true rate of inflation over the past year is probably over
100,000%.

Hoogstraten had fake South Africa rands - court
told

By Lebo NkatazoLast updated: 02/15/2008 19:23:52BRITISH
property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten pleaded not guilty to illegally
dealing in foreign currency and money laundering at the opening of his trial
in Harare Wednesday.

Prosecutors have also charged van Hoogstraten with
possession of fake South African rands.

He however, could not plead
in relation to a pornography charge, arguing that he wanted to be furnished
with more documents relating to that matter by the Attorney Generals
Office.

Van Hoogstraten was arrested last month after demanding rent from
his tenants in foreign currency, according to police spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena.

Bvudzijena added that police also recovered pornographic
pictures of the businessman and at least two young Zimbabwean girls from van
Hoogstraten's home in Harare.

In court documents, the Briton is also
accused of money laundering, exchanging money on the parallel market and
possessing fake South African rands.

On that last allegation, van
Hoogstraten's lawyer George Chikumbirike said: “It is common cause that the
South African rand is not legal tender in Zimbabwe. The issue of fake
foreign bank notes is not covered by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act. The
offence does not exist.”

Hoogstraten, 63, is a multi-millionaire who once
arranged a hand grenade attack on a business rival and has built himself a
palace in the Sussex countryside.

Van Hoogstraten, a frequent visitor
to Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, has invested in property, mining,
farming and banking concerns in Zimbabwe and has spoken openly of his
support and financial dealings with President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF
party, which favoured him in more than two decades of investment in the
southern African nation.

In 2006, a British newspaper The Sunday Times
quoted van Hoogstaten as having said he had given President Robert Mugabe a
£10 million pound loan.

But Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba said
the claim was "cheap propaganda and a vain attempt to besmirch" the
president.

Charamba said the president was "neither a borrower nor
lender", adding: "Robert Mugabe has no relationship with any tycoon, let
alone of British stock."

van Hoogstaten later called a press
conference in Harare to deny having given money to Mugabe.

The Devil's in the detail

Financial Mail

15 February 2008

NICHOLAS VAN
HOOGSTRATEN/CORWIL

By Rob Rose

Odd things are happening at Corwil, an
anonymous JSE-listed investment company which appears to be controlled by
Nicholas van Hoogstraten - once described by a British judge as a
self-styled "emissary of Beelzebub".

Over the past week, Corwil
has admitted to breaching JSE rules by not revealing it had sold its stake
in mining group Metorex and that it had been acquiring shares in industrial
group Marshall Monteagle without shareholder approval.

These admissions come amid a row between Corwil's UK and SA directors over
the "unauthorised" sale of Corwil's investment in property group
iFour.

As buried details of Corwil's deals emerge, the shadow
of Van Hoogstraten looms large. Though relatively unknown in SA, Van
Hoogstraten is well known in the UK, where he went to jail for attacking
business rivals, and in Zimbabwe, where he owns more than 200 properties and
counts President Robert Mugabe as his friend.

Among his
many famous statements is one that "the only purpose in creating great
wealth like mine is to separate oneself from the riffraff".

To
the surprise of many, Van Hoogstraten was arrested in Harare three weeks ago
for forex dealings and levying rents on his Zimbabwe properties in foreign
currency. (When arrested, he apparently had a stack of cash, including
Z$20bn, R92 880 and US$37 586.)

Considering that Van
Hoogstraten once described Mugabe as "100% incorruptible", his arrest
sparked rumours that he had fallen out with Mugabe over his Zimbabwe
business interests. But Van Hoogstraten vehemently denied any political
fallout. In a statement, he described the arrest as "a minor
irritation".

Company records show that the main vehicle through
which Van Hoogstraten does business in Zimbabwe and SA is a company called
Messina Investments.

When reports emerged from the UK in
2003 that Van Hoogstraten had lent $10m to Mugabe (which Mugabe hotly
denied), the name on the agreement was apparently Messina Investments.
Equally, when Van Hoogstraten told Zimbabwe's Financial Gazette that he sold
his share in Zimbabwe's NMB Bank in November, it was Messina that was
actually the seller.

Who owns Corwil?

When it
comes to Van Hoogstraten's JSE investments, Messina pops up again. According
to annual reports, Messina is a 43% shareholder in Corwil, with Van
Hoogstraten holding another 5% directly. But there is enough doubt as to
Messina's identity to suggest Van Hoogstraten might well control Corwil
himself.

Corwil has been suspended from trading on the JSE
since 2005, and has a market capitalisation of R8,9m. However, in recent
days Corwil piqued curiosity by admitting to breaking JSE rules in various
deals.

In particular, Corwil didn't ask for shareholder
approval for the purchase of R5,6m worth of shares in Marshall Monteagle in
early 2007. These shares were bought from Messina - Corwil's largest
shareholder - making this a related party deal. Under the JSE rules, Corwil
ought to have obtained a "fair and reasonable" opinion, and allowed
shareholders to vote on this deal.

Also, Corwil sold 550
000 Metorex shares over the past few years for R5,18m without telling
shareholders, making a profit of R1,7m on these deals. It also sold 525 255
shares in iFour for R5,7m, making a loss of R601 320.

What
is intriguing is that Corwil says the iFour deal "may have been
unauthorised", and is "being challenged" by four of Corwil's six directors.
"There are disputes regarding [Corwil's] business and conduct of certain
directors, which are now the subject of a legal process," Corwil said in the
statement.

It appears the UK directors (including Van
Hoogstraten's son Max Hamilton and his former girlfriend and Corwil chair
Caroline Williams) are at war with the two SA directors appointed in July
last year, Nathan Hittler and Gugu Xaba.

Hittler tells the
FM he was simply trying to "regularise" Corwil so the suspension could be
lifted. "I noticed this company in March last year, because it looked like a
shell company that could be revived and used for black empowerment. But we
found material irregularities around the issue of shares at Corwil," he
says.

But the UK directors are accusing Hittler of fraud and
stealing the iFour shares, which were sold and used to buy Corwil's
investment in 1Time.

Williams says: "Hittler is a fraudster who
has stolen or attempted to steal almost all of Corwil's assets." She says
the UK directors launched a high court bid which has "frozen the assets and
accounts of Corwil, and the accounts into which Hittler has fraudulently
transferred Corwil's assets and cash".

Hittler denies this:
"I spoke repeatedly to Mr van Hoogstraten and he gave me an express
authority to fix this company. I believe the UK directors are simply acting
for Mr van Hoogstraten."

As to why Corwil breached the JSE
rules, Williams says these were "historic matters approved by holders of
over 80% of the share capital. Our then-advisers failed to advise the JSE of
the deals."

Williams promises the two SA directors "will be
removed at a general meeting shortly... and legal and criminal proceedings
continued to recover stolen assets and cash".

Hittler says
that more of Corwil's dubious past dealings will emerge in his efforts to
clean up the company.

Corwil labyrinth

Corwil
potentially has some large assets (see diagram). These include 15% of
UK-based Willoughby's, which controls half of property group
Tombstone.

The ownership of Tombstone was discussed in a UK
court ruling which found it was "beneficially owned" by Van Hoogstraten.
Tombstone's most recent set of financials, for the year to April 2005,
showed it had £24m in "tangible assets", mostly "freehold
property".

It seems the real issue is whether Van Hoogstraten
really owns Tombstone, Willoughby's and Corwil. Getting to grips with
Corwil's largest shareholder Messina could offer insight into Van
Hoogstraten's control structure. But finding out who actually owns Messina
is tricky.

When the FM asked Williams who actually controlled
Messina, she said it is a "Van Hoogstraten family company" and "not owned by
Nicholas, but by his children and various trusts".

However,
UK judge Peter Smith ruled in 2003 that "any shares registered in the names
of a Messina company belong beneficially to Mr van Hoogstraten". The judge
added that Van Hoogstraten "simply cannot be believed about anything he has
to say about his assets".

Williams also wouldn't disclose
exactly what Messina and Van Hoogstraten owned in Southern Africa, saying
only that it was "too much to list".

Messina's 2006
financials don't shed much light on the matter, stating that the company had
"listed investments" of £464 453 at April 2006. However, this is barely more
than the value of its 43% of Corwil and one wonders how this could reflect
the value of Messina's other interests, including shares in Zimbabwe's
Hwange Colliery. Messina doesn't list its investments or how it spends its
cash, and got an "exemption from audit" notice under the UK Companies Act,
which meant it wasn't audited.

Chequered history

It is testament to Van Hoogstraten's shrewd sense that he has been able to
do business in SA largely below the radar.

Notoriously
tight-fisted, he was said to have been the youngest millionaire in the UK in
the 1960s, with a fortune said to exceed £400m. His home in England is a
mansion in Sussex, which was designed to be larger than Buckingham Palace,
but has been under construction since 1985.

But beneath the
cultured exterior lay a dark history. In 1968, at 23, he was found guilty of
ordering gangsters to throw a hand grenade into the home of a business
associate's father. After his release, complaints abounded that he continued
to terrorise those he dealt with.

In 2002, Van Hoogstraten was
convicted in the Old Bailey of ordering the killing of rival Mohammed Sabir
Raja. The two killers had heroin problems and were allegedly paid £7 000 by
Van Hoogstraten, but did a ham-fisted job in a brightly painted £300
van.

A year later, an appeal court overturned the conviction.
But Raja's family successfully claimed £6m in a civil suit as it was found
"on a balance of probabilities" that Van Hoogstraten was involved in the
murder.

‘Black thing’ creeping into South Africa

There is a creepy phenomenon known as
“The Black Thing”, that emerged only after 1957.

It’s got
nothing to do with the military coups that occurred with sickening frequency
after the end of colonialism.

It’s nothing to do with corruption either
which, in Ghana anyway, was always associated with Krobo Edusei and the
golden bed.

But I digress: the “black thing” could, finally, be defined
as a typically African way of handling ticklish problems, as opposed – I
suppose – to how Europeans, the former colonial masters, would handle
them.

For instance, many of us believe President Thabo Mbeki’s bizarre
reaction to the HIV-Aids pandemic in his country was an African
thing.

Of course, there were South African Africans who thought he had
put his foot into it. But his reaction was viewed as being intrinsically
“black”.

But other allegedly “black things” followed: the struggle for
power in the ANC, for instance, contained the absence of finesse that
typified it as “black”.

For many Africans, South Africa was expected
to be the beacon for the continent, showing the proper way to develop a
country just released from the bondage of white rule.

Everything
seemed to work splendidly until Nelson Mandela left the scene. In many ways,
the former guerillas took over. So, even the “darkness” trouble into which
Eskom landed the country was ascribed to the preoccupation with trivia of
the former guerillas, among them Mbeki and his rival Jacob Zuma.

South
Africa, with its superior grasp of modern technology, was not expected to be
caught with its pants down when the lights went out.

The richest country
on the continent was plunged into an example of the “black thing”,
considered par for the course for countries such as Zimbabwe or Zambia or
Mozambique, but not for South Africa, with its almost first world
economy.

There are some who believe that it was almost inevitable that
South Africa would develop, sooner rather than later, all the symptoms of
being afflicted with the “African thing” syndrome.

This can translate
into such a morbid preoccupation with politics, and such mundane matters as
feeding the people, creating jobs for them, ensuring they have enough water
and power for their daily livelihood are relegated to the back-burner, or
simply postponed until the political matters have been
resolved.

Would it surprise anyone if it is revealed, for posterity,
that at the time Mbeki and Zuma were quarrelling over the ANC’s plum job,
they could have been devoting their full attention to the problems at
Eskom?

Basically, the “The African thing” consists of a surfeit of
politics; it seems most leaders find it more invigorating to be engaged in
political mayhem or polemics than to be sitting down to work out how to
bring to the people the real fruits of independence – enough water, food,
enough jobs, enough clinics and hospitals and enough schools.

In a
newly-freed country, there is a need to allow for a time of adjustment. But
this can result in fatal preoccupations – such as the “dissident” menace
that occurred in Zimbabwe so soon after independence in 1980.

A
phenomenon that has not been thoroughly ventilated is the calm that
characterised the immediate post-independent period of Botswana with Sir
Seretse Khama in charge.

To this day, Botswana has undergone fewer
political upheavals than most countries in the region. Perhaps there is a
“Botswana thing” into which sociologists and political scientists in the
region ought to do research.

Cholera Claims Seven in Mudzi

The Herald (Harare) Published by
the government of Zimbabwe

15 February 2008Posted to the web 15
February 2008

Harare

Seven people from Nyamukuyo Village in Mudzi
district, Mashonaland East Province, have so far died of cholera. The
Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, confirmed the
outbreak, which started two weeks ago.

Dr Parirenyatwa said a woman
who had visited Mozambique was suspected to have carried the disease to the
village. This is the second reported cholera outbreak this month after a
similar outbreak in Muzarabani where four people died last week. In a
separate interview, principal director for preventive services in the
Ministry of Health, Dr Gibson Mhlanga, attributed the increase of cholera
and diarrhoea cases in the country to unsafe water and inadequate
sanitation.

He, however, said an epidemic taskforce committee was
already on the ground monitoring the situation. Dr Mhlanga said with
assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health
Organisation and other partners, his ministry had already mobilised drugs
such as intravenous fluids, water tablets and fuel to facilitate movement
around in the affected areas.

"In the past, about 40 percent of
people in rural areas and about 90 percent in urban areas had adequate
sanitation facilities but now there is a reverse trend in the statistics
because of economic challenges," he said. He pointed out that most of the
sewer reticulation systems were not designed for large populations, leading
to persistent sewer blockages.

Speaking at a seminar held in Harare on
Wednesday where issues of safe water and adequate sanitation facilities were
discussed, Unicef deputy representative to Zimbabwe Mr Roeland Monasch said
washing hands with soap reduces the chances of contracting cholera and acute
respiratory infections. Mr Monasch said acute respiratory infections and
diarrhoea were among the leading causes of deaths in Zimbabwe. Government
officials from the ministries of Health, Economic Development and Water
Resources and Infrastructural Development attended the
workshop.

Participants at the workshop agreed to resuscitate water and
sanitation institutions at all levels in a bid to increase sanitation
accessibility. It is estimated that an average of six million Zimbabweans
have no access to proper sanitation facilities. "We conclude that safe
sanitation is a basic human right fundamental to national development and
need to be prioritised," reads part of a draft communiqué issued after the
seminar.

Bulawayo nominations extended by 2 hours

By Tererai Karimakwenda15
February, 2008

Reports from the Bulawayo Nominations Court indicate that
the processing of applications was still taking place after 5:00 P.M. Our
Bulawayo contact Zenzele said officials from the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC), resorted to using gas lights as it became dark. There was
no electricity in the courtroom that served as registration headquarters for
Matabeleland province.

Zenzele said the day was peaceful but the
process was slow. Originally the courts were scheduled to close at 4:00 pm
but the deadline was extended by 2 hours by order of a High Court judge,
after a lawyer for Eddie Cross of the Tsvangirai MDC filed papers seeking an
extension.

Cross is a parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South. He had
earlier submitted his documents but was disqualified from entering the
parliamentary race for reasons that were not made public. His lawyer Job
Sibanda quickly approached the High Court in Bulawayo, which ordered that
the registration deadline be extended from 4 - 6 p.m.The final list will
show whether his application was successful.

Our contact also reported
that many candidates who lost in the primaries for both the ruling party and
the opposition, registered as independents. Several lawyers were also
seeking to enter the political arena. Job Sibanda, who represented Eddie
Cross at the High Court, registered himself as an MDC candidate for
Mpopoma.

Zenzele said in some Matabeleland constituencies there was
confusion when two candidates from the same party showed up to register.
This reportedly happened for both ZANU-PF and the MDC. It is not clear how
ZEC officials decided which candidate was the official
representative.

It appears the harmonised elections will present a
logistical nightmare for the Electoral Commission. ZEC officials will have
to count the votes in 3 separate categories. If Friday’s registration of
candidates was any example to go by, it might be days after March 29th
before Zimbabweans find out who is their President, member of parliament or
local councillor.

I left my heart in
Harare

African Path

G. Pascal Zachary

February 15, 2008 12:47 PM

I’ve never been to Zimbabwe, and my
chances of going any time soon seem slim. I’ve never taken the “ambulance
chaser” approach to African affairs and — getting older by the day — I’m not
about to start chasing ambulances now. And with Zimbabwe’s election looming
at the end of next month, the ambulance indeed is the right
metaphor.

After watching Kenya’s disputed presidential election become
the trigger for ethnic violence, few Africa watchers remain sanguine about
the prospects of any contest vote in the region. On past occasions I’ve
bemoaned the perils of elections in Africa, and highlighted the apparent
lack of benefits of holding them.

In the case of Zimbabwe, the
planned elections on March 29 are likely to provide a flimsy pretext for the
repressive and irrational Robert Mugabe to bully and abuse his many
opponents. Americans — and all friends of Africa — ought to proclaim the end
of Mugabe’s reign of terror as the number one goal of diplomacy in the
region.

That South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki has failed to deliver a
peaceful transfer of power in Zimbabwe is no reason to despair. Mbeki is a
lame duck and the long period of deference to his status should come to a
crashing end. Mbeki deserves to hear harsh complaints over his protection of
Mugabe.

The human cost of Mugabe’s hold on power is of course enough to
justify his removal as Zimbabwe’s president. Yet the damage to the prestige
of the African Union — and Mugabe’s own moral standing — is also very
large.

African leaders are quick to remind Westerners in particular that
they do not deserve the disrespect they so often receive from do-gooders and
media the world over. By refusing to isolate and ultimately break Mugabe’s
hold on power, however, Africa’s “big men” make themselves seem very very
small.